Additive processes are known for manufacturing integrated lead head suspension flexures for magnetic disk drives. In one exemplary known additive process, a flexure spring metal layer may be formed from a stainless steel sheet of material. A dielectric layer can then be applied onto the spring metal layer, and conductive leads can be deposited onto the dielectric layer. A protective coating of a corrosion-resistant, conductive metal or dielectric material may also optionally be applied over exposed surfaces of the leads. Other additive processes may include different processing steps and/or different sequences of steps. The particular additive process utilized should provide for strong adhesion between the leads and the dielectric material. Additionally, the leads should be positioned in as compact a configuration as possible so as to facilitate reducing the overall size of the flexure. It is further desirable to minimize the overall material cost and the number of manufacturing processing steps required to form the flexures.
Thus, there is a continuing need for improved disk drive head suspension flexures and methods for making such improved flexures. In particular, there is a need for high-quality integrated lead disk drive head suspension flexures having compact lead configurations, and also for an efficient, cost-effective process for manufacturing such flexures.